Most HORECA businesses continue to feel the effects of labour shortages and supply chain disruption, and most are thinking of ways to cut operational costs and drive profitability.
One way this is playing out is the increase in demand for concentrates in their beverage service. Driven by younger consumers’ preference for new tastes, flavoured drinks and quality coffee blends, coffee concentrate is experiencing a huge growth. According to WRDE, the concentrates market size is expected to grow from 636.9 million USD In 2020, to reach $2915.4m in 2022.
Coffee concentrate is a liquid form of coffee with a high ratio of soluble solids. It is mixed with milk or water to make a drinking strength beverage. Coffee concentrate can also be used as an additive or ingredient with syrups or alcohol. Concentrates are now being used by key players like Intelligensia and La Colombe to provide a better, more consistent and streamlined hot and cold coffee service.
Concentrate coffee has a variety of benefits for businesses looking to streamline their coffee service. Firstly, concentrated coffee can be used as a base for any drink, be it cold brew, americanos, lattes, or even affogatos and espresso martinis. A shot of coffee concentrate can even be used instead of an espresso shot.
Concentrate cuts out some of the inherent negatives of espresso and cold brew, such as the difficulties of being consistent with every single extraction or brew. Concentrate coffee is also a shelf-stable liquid that doesn’t required refrigeration, meaning sites can free up their fridge space with other higher price-point items. Coffee concentrate is an excellent alternative to cold brewing on site, which can take up to 10 hours to brew and requires the operator to grind, brew and decant the liquid.
Highly flexible
A further way to improve speed of drive and drive efficiency, is to consider a concentrate dispense system such as the Marco POUR’D. POUR’D is well positioned to improve efficiency, consistency, and speed of service in HORECA sites. In a low-margin industry, any investment in equipment is going to be a serious consideration and sites will be looking to get the best out of their kit.
When paired with a concentrate coffee source, POUR’D is highly flexible and can be used to create a wide array of beverages. From a single, sleek, countertop font, users can dispense a shot of concentrate for mochas or frappes, they can dispense up to three sizes of cold coffee and there’s even the option of adding a separate hot water source that can be used for tea or Americanos. All from one POS.
When paired with a concentrate, POUR’D cuts down labour needs as it dispenses up to three pre-set volumes of cold brew. This means that a barista simply needs to push a button and can walk away to other tasks while the beverage is being dispenses to the exact volume required. Simply hooked up to the POUR’D the barista doesn’t need to brew, dilute the concentrate, or even go to the fridge for their cold brew service.
As the beverage market continues to expand, and HORECA businesses consider how to offer meet this demand, concentrates, syrups and intuitive dispense systems are an excellent way to drive efficiency without compromising beverage offering.
